Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

Less than three weeks after it was announced Chris Tifft was leaving the Cal Poly Humboldt men’s basketball program, the Jacks have hired his replacement.

On Friday afternoon, Executive Director of Athletics Dr. Nick Pettit announced that DJ Broome will take over as head coach of the team.

Broome is a former Lumberjack, who played for Humboldt from 2008 to 2012, and is also a former head coach of the College of the Redwoods women’s team.

“We are excited to welcome coach Broome back to campus to lead our men’s basketball program,” Petitt said. “He brings a tireless work ethic and a vision to create a culture of excellence on and off the court. 

“His understanding of our community and what it takes to be successful at Cal Poly Humboldt made him a clear choice as our next head coach.”

Broome, who has Division-I and Division-II coaching experience, is excited about the opportunity and a return to Arcata.

“This opportunity at Cal Poly Humboldt is a dream come true for me,” he said. “Since I stepped on campus in 2008, this program, university and community has held a very special place in my heart.”

Broome began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, serving as an assistant coach during the 2013-14 season.

He also served as an assistant coach at Cal State Monterey Bay in 2015, before accepting his first head coaching position at College of the Redwoods for one season.

He then returned to the Jacks as an assistant coach for the 2016-17 season.

From there, Broome joined the Sonoma State University as the head assistant coach from 2017 to 2019, before becoming the associate head coach at Academy of Art University in San Francisco from 2019 to 2021.

Most recently, Broome spent four seasons with the University of Montana, where he initially served as director of student-athlete development (2021-23) before being promoted to assistant coach (2023-25).

He helped the Grizzlies qualify for the NCAA Tournament this past season.

“I want to thank Dr. Pettit for his trust in me and everyone who has supported me along the way and helped me get to this point,” he said. “I will work every day to build a program this university and community are proud of, helping student-athletes grow both on and off the court. 

“We will compete and honor the special tradition and success this program has had in the past. I can’t wait to get started.”

Broome also has coached with the Humboldt Wild and the Arcata girls JVs team.

“I couldn’t be happier or more excited for both DJ and Cal Poly Humboldt,” Montana head coach Travis DeCuire said. “Throughout his time here in Missoula he always talked with so much pride about being a Lumberjack and it’s such a cool story for him to be going back as the head coach.

“We have been fortunate to have a lot of success here in Montana during his time, and he has been a big part of it. We will miss him, but will be rooting for him in his next chapter.”

During his playing days with the Jacks, Broome helped the Jacks to an impressive 90-32 overall record, including a dominant 53-7 mark at home.

He earned team honors as Most Improved Player (2011) and Most Inspirational (2012), all while serving as a team captain.

Tifft left the Jacks to take over as head coach at conference rival Cal State San Bernardino.